Thanks for bringing us up to date Kelly, you have been busy. Look forward to an updated photo. Lucky you having the north aspect at the front, lovely and warm in winter, so definitely no trees at the front to block that. Do you know what sort of a lawn you have? If you can repair and keep the brick wall, I think I would, it visually adds width to the house. A timber fence will cut it, add another element that could muddle everything and I worry it could detract from the sandstone. As far as rendering goes, I am not one to follow the crowd, but in this instance, I think I would allow your house to fit in with the neighbourhood. If homes around you are of similar finish and age, then leave the brick as is. Hard to explain but when I see a house that has been rendered in a sea of original homes, it stands out for all the wrong reasons, almost like a desperate fix to update that never quite comes off. Because your home is so distinctive in style, it will be harder to achieve too.

I have had a love/hate relationship with curtains in both my houses (both houses gutted and extended). In our current house our family/kitchen/dining room is quite big and has two sets of cafe doors and two big double windows. I had NO curtains/blinds on them for TEN years because I didn't like anything I saw! We had a film crew use our house and they put up sheers on all the windows/doors that are a beige/mushroom tone similar to your grey sheers. (My walls are Dulux white opal.) We loved them so much we kept them. They are relatively dust free (unlike shutters) and they don't impose or darken the room which was what worried me (I like airy, not closed in). My couches are red and I have a bright colour palette generally. But the thing is you don't want the curtains to dominate, or the room/s to look too busy and because the couch is the same tone, you can now decorate to your hearts content with other colours with cushions and vases, etc without losing that restful Hampton's feel. I say stick with your curtains. Good luck! Kerry

We've ended up choosing Yokor Windows & Doors. They're a Chinese import company with very high quality product. A builder friend of mine recommend him who used them in his own house. We are yet to order though. They were about 8k cheaper than The other company we were tossing up between. The only issue i don't like their flyscreen product so we'll get that from someone else.

Beautiful but all I can think about are heating and cooling costs, so much glass means temperature transfer